.The Queer Eye stylist, Tan France, in his memoir, Naturally Tan, spoke about how he took up various jobs as a young adult and recalled how his experiences shaped who he has become. The Netflix smash hit star in his usual witty and compassionate manner portrayed the difficulty of being gay in a traditional Muslim family living in Doncaster, England.
Tan France’s experience as a flight attendant:
In his memoir, he mentions how he worked as a flight attendant at the age of nineteen during the early 2000s. He says, “It was meant to be a six-month seasonal job, but I only lasted two months.”
France goes on to write about how he had some misconceptions about the job of a flight attendant. It includes more than just “all they’re doing is serving tea and coffee and a bit of something else.” He recalls how hard it was with thirty-something days of training and added, “I felt like glorified water.”
The 9/11 terrorist attack was one of the reasons why it became so difficult for him to work. Due to his Skin Color and Religion, people often referred to him as ‘terrorist’. They told so in his face that France was British of Pakistani descent. Racial discrimination was something that France was, unfortunately, familiar with. Since he grew up in a region where there were very few people of color.
His final journey to England from Ibiza, Spain, pretty much steered him away from the job. He came across “rowdy people [were] being aggressive” who wanted coffee as France refuse to give alcohol. The rude attitude of those people was quite enough for him to quite the job on the spot. But not before shouting out, “Get your own (expletive) coffee.”
He assured “USA Today” that “If I weren’t doing any of this anymore, I don’t think I would ever choose to do that job again. Because it’s a lot more complicated than anyone thinks.”